President Cyril Ramaphosa says that he is grateful to have some good news in the midst of the national lockdown.

In his weekly letter to South Africa, Ramaphosa discussed the success of the mission to bring citizens home from China:

"Yesterday, I was in Polokwane to meet the 114 South Africans who were evacuated from Wuhan in China two weeks ago. They have ended their quarantine and are finally going home to be with their families. They have all tested negative for the virus and are in good health and good spirits."

Ramaphosa highlighted that the efforts of both the Chinese government and the South African state had helped contain the situation:

"The experience of the South Africans in Wuhan demonstrates the effectiveness – and the necessity – of a state of lockdown. It was due to the drastic actions that the Chinese government took to contain the disease in the city of Wuhan that all of our people were able to return uninfected and healthy."

What was once the epicentre of the outbreak in China has now been reporting minimal cases:

"Wuhan, a city of 11 million people in the province of Hubei, had more than 50,000 infections. Now, after more than two months after stringent lockdown measures were put in place, the province has had fewer than 20 new cases in the past two weeks."

The president insists that this is proof enough that the current lockdown measures will provide results if citizens co-operate:

"But the lesson from the South Africans in Wuhan is that a lockdown works. It shows that if we strictly observe the rules in place to stop the virus spreading, we will be able to bring infection rates down. It shows that if we cooperate with health authorities in doing what we have to do, we won’t be just saving our own lives but those around us too. The story of our South African returnees from Wuhan should give us encouragement and hope in the difficult weeks that lie ahead."

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